


Catch Him Off Guard

by livvy_x



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-28 04:07:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13263342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livvy_x/pseuds/livvy_x
Summary: When Riverdale High and Southside High come together, Jughead targets Betty as his victim, picking on her any chance he would get. This is one of those stories where the boy picks on a girl because he falls in love with her, and Jughead realizes that by accident. How does their relationship get handled as it blooms?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To everyone's dismay, Riverdale High and Southside High merge together. Immediately, Jughead picked Betty as his victim, picking on her as often as he could. By accident, Jughead realizes he may like her a little more than itended.nt.

New students in Southside High were never welcomed, but where they were, forcibly inviting every student from Riverdale High into their school. Something stupid and fixable happened at Riverdale High… _a gas leak. _This one, small gas leak is causing the townies to attend school at Southside High for the rest of the year. It was a terrible merging, there was no doubt about that.__

__Jughead Jones, the Serpent Prince sat on the window sill at the end of the hallway with his gang friends surrounding him. He had a cigarette between his lips, scowling as the new students skipped their way through the halls. Then he saw her, a girl who looked like a living Barbie doll, dressed in a light pink dress and a tan cardigan with her blonde hair in a tight ponytail. She was the perfect, all American, girl next door. Jughead knew then and there, she was a target. Someone needed to be picked on, to be shown who rules this school, and she was the one he chose._ _

__As the anonymous girl walked through the halls of the rusty, worn down high school, she handed out flyers to the students that would pass her. “Dinner and a movie for all students at Pop’s Chock-lit Shoppe on Friday at 6:30,” she told everyone over and over again as she gave out flyers. The smile on her face was so prominent that it could’ve made Jughead puke._ _

__Hopping off of the window sill, he pushed his friends aside so he could get through and headed straight for her. Disrupting her cheery promotion of this ‘dinner and a movie’ for school bonding, Jughead snatched the papers from her hand. “What’s this?” His voice feigned sweetness and curiosity._ _

__With excitement, the girl responded, “Well, since our school’s are together for the rest of the year, Principal Weatherbee and your principal agreed to let me have a night at Pop’s for us all to come together and get to know each other. It’d be best if all of us are on good terms and friends. Don’t you think?” She smiled up at him, noticeably trying not to look at his leather Serpents jacket, rather looking him right in the eye. He could respect her for that, but decided against it._ _

__Jughead stayed silent a moment. Then he snorted, saying, “No.” The girl furrowed her brows. “No one wanted the schools to merge and no one wants to do something as dumb as ‘bonding,’” he said rudely, dropping the paper’s to the floor. He expected her to be scared, but, shockingly, her face didn’t conform to show any sadness or fear, she just sighed as she bent to pick the stack up. Jughead scoffed and walked past her, making sure his leg brushed her. _She might end up a challenge. _____

____* * *_ _ _ _

____After a few days of picking on the unnamed girl, Jughead found out that she was called Betty Cooper. She was preppy. She was way too happy. And she was devoted. He did everything he could to tease her, but she’d normally just sigh in return, yet sometimes she’d shake her head and ignore him completely. He wondered if anything he said even bothered her. Even when the two co-principals had to cancel the student bonding at Pop’s because of the school’s lack of interest, she didn’t seem too down._ _ _ _

____Honestly, he wasn’t even sure why he was thinking about her and the games he tried to play with her. She was just another one on his long list of victims. He was Jughead Jones, after all, but in some twisted way, he felt drawn to her._ _ _ _

____There she was, strutting down the hall and tightening her ponytail whenever it would flop a certain way. She greeted nearly everyone she looked at, even the gang members. Unsurprisingly, she was also reminding everyone of whatever the hell next event the school had going on the weekend, but when she got to Jughead, she stopped. “Jughead,” she greeted curtly, not even bothering to promote the homecoming dance to him._ _ _ _

____Jughead was a bit taken aback by this. No matter what he had said to her, she always ignored it and kept on with her preppy, cherry school spirit. Keeping his cool, he fixed his beanie and turned to her. “Don’t got nothing to say today, princess?” He mocked her with the pet name._ _ _ _

____Betty shrugged, turning to him. “Why would I offer my kindness to the biggest asshole I know?” This was the first actual insult she had given him, so it took the boy a bit off guard. He felt a little jab in his chest at that one, to be honest. Raising her eyebrows, expecting for him to respond, she snorted and turned to walk away._ _ _ _

____The second he saw her back, he was recollected. Grabbing her wrist, he twisted her around to be against the locker. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t back away. Cornering her, he said, “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” he noticed, scrunching down to be eye level with her. To be honest, this close proximity didn’t felt uncomfortable to either of them, but she still grimaced. “Oh, and Betts? You don’t know shit about me,” he spat._ _ _ _

____Betty smirked, not nicely though. “I know enough,” she snarled, pushing past him to remake her rounds of talking to every single kid in the hallway._ _ _ _

____Jughead stood there, just watching her with a gasped open jaw. He tried to make himself feel bothered by the audacity she had to speak to him, the Serpent Prince like that, rather than hot-and-bothered. He couldn’t understand why that attitude coming from Betty turned him on the way it did, but she was the perfect girl next door, and that definitely should not be happening._ _ _ _

____* * *_ _ _ _

____“And we meet again, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes,” Jughead greeted Betty, wondering if she was still in the wicked mood that she was in earlier._ _ _ _

____“We always do, Juggie,” Betty responded, using a nickname that only she ever used._ _ _ _

____Jughead circled around her. “Gonna call me an asshole again? I mean, really, honey, I’m being as nice as I can,” he taunted, giving her fake puppy dog eyes._ _ _ _

____She silently clicked her tongue, trying to avoid eye contact. When she did look up at him, she responded, “Only if you tempt me,” she said cheekily, tilting her head at him. Jughead sucked in a breath, not really knowing how to respond, so again, she went to walk away._ _ _ _

____“Ah, ah, ah,” Jughead condemned, spinning her into the locker again. “You should really stop walking away from me when we’re in the middle of a conversation,” he said, shaking his head at her._ _ _ _

____Their faces were close. The only thing honestly running through his mind was what the hell she thought about him. He assumed that he was honestly an asshole, but sometimes, he wondered. She never actually ran away from him, she seemed to find just as much entertainment in their little games._ _ _ _

____The girl opened her mouth to respond, but then was cut off by two other teenagers. Toni, Jughead’s best friend, and Kevin, Betty’s best friend. “The sexual tension in here is _splitting _!” The Serpent girl and the preppy boy said in unison.___ _ _ _

______Not looking at Jughead, who was involuntarily smirking, Betty let out a breath and walked past him. “Goodbye, _asshole _,” she said, clearly holding back a laugh. The way they were to each other was quite ridiculous sometimes.___ _ _ _ _ _

________* * *_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Jughead was laying down in the storage room of the school, underneath the staircase. He lit a cigarette and curled into the comforter he took from the trailer he and his dad lived in. He was only staying at the school because his dad was drinking too much the night before, but it was okay. Being at school early wasn’t always a bad thing for him; normally it meant he got more time to make his rounds._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________As he exhaled a puff of smoke, he heard footsteps coming. Figuring it was the principal, he leaned back, thinking that no one would ever enter this little storage unit. To his demise though, the door swung open, showing none other than Betty Cooper. “What the fuck?” Jughead asked, putting the cig out. He didn’t know if his heart dropped to his stomach because someone found his hideout or because it was _her _.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Hm,” Betty observed, not yet saying anything further about his situation. She was really looking at his beautiful, luscious flow of raven colored hair, but she didn’t say anything about it. She bit her lip, making Jughead wonder what she was thinking… that quickly ended though. “I need the black and gold streamers behind you,” she then said, pointing to the shelf that he was laying in front of. Silently, he reached for it and handed it over. “Thanks,” she muttered. Before leaving though, she said, “By the way, you probably shouldn’t be living in the school. It’s dirty in here.” She then started to walk away, with nothing else to say._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Jughead was getting annoyed by the way she keeps catching him off guard like that. Before he could think it through, he was up and running to catch up with her. “I’m not living here,” he corrected as he matched her paces. Then he realized she probably though he looked strange in sweatpants and a plain wife-beater, it’s not his look._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Looked like it,” Betty responded, shrugging and picking up her speed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I’m not,” he cleared up once more. “It’s temporary,” Jughead said. He had expected questions from her, but he got none. “What are you doing here anyway? It’s like 5:45.” His brows were furrowed and his arms were now crossed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Betty snorted, rolling her eyes. “It’s Homecoming tomorrow. I’m setting up,” she said as if it was obvious, entering the gym with him trailing behind._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Man, you really are the perfect student, aren’t you?” Jughead said, just hinting some playfulness in his voice. He notice her wince at the word ‘perfect,’ but didn’t speak up on why. Ignoring him then, she started to set up. He stayed silent for the moment that she tried setting up streamers. When she couldn’t reach, he absentmindedly took the decorations from her and did it himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Betty’s cheeks flushed as she looked down to her shoes, confusing Jughead a bit. “Thank you,” she said softly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Jughead gulped. “Yeah, uh… need help with anything else?” He scratched the back of his neck. Noticing again that he was speaking before his mind had the chance to think it through. “Fuck,” he mouthed to himself, truly believing that he was an idiot._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Betty’s head snapped around in shock. “You want to help me? It’s a miracle,” she teased, giggling._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Jughead realized how cute her laugh was, but tried to push that thought away from his mind. In response, he looked at her in a way that said _‘oh, shut up.’ _Then he grabbed the decorations from her hands and did what needed to be done.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________If a person could accidentally make jokes just to please another person, that’s what Jughead was doing. He didn’t know why, but he liked seeing her smile and hearing her laugh. Right before his eyes, he didn’t even realizing that he was actually falling for a Northsider. It was tricky business, so he figured it go away if he kept ignoring it. How stupid could he be though not to realize that he was doing _anything _but ignoring it?___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________They finished in half that time that it would’ve taken Betty to do by herself. She was thankful, of course. “So, Jughead. I assume you are not coming to this dance tomorrow?” Her eyebrows were raised as she looked at him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Actually, uh, I was wondering if maybe you’d wanna go with me?” Jughead’s eyes widened after he asked that. _What the fuck? Why did I say that? Oh, my god, _he thought to himself, internally freaking the hell out.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Betty grinned. “Pick me up at seven, and uh, wear your hair like that,” she said, and that was that._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Jughead let out a breath of relief. He wasn’t expecting to go to the dance, he wasn’t expecting to ask that, and he wasn’t expecting her to say yes. At least he knew she didn’t think he was total scum… and also that she liked his hair. In that moment though, he totally realized that _she got him fucked. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Riverdale High and Southside High come together, Jughead targets Betty as his victim, picking on her any chance he would get. This is one of those stories where the boy picks on a girl because he falls in love with her, and Jughead realizes that by accident. How does their relationship get handled as it blooms?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead get flirty with each other at Homecoming, but can Jughead really prove to her that he isn’t just an asshole? Or does Betty prove that she already knows he’s not as bad as he had seemed to be?

“Seven. She said seven, right?” Jughead was talking to himself, pacing back and forth in front of his father’s truck. “Fuck. Why the fuck would I do this?”

Jughead didn’t even realize that his father, who was currently sober, was standing on the small porch of the trailer, watching him. “Jug,” he said, holding back a chuckle. “Just go pick the girl up.” He looked at him expectantly.

With that, the boy groaned and was on his way to the Northside to pick up his date. In reality, he thought it was ridiculous that he had to drive all the way to the other side of town just to get _her _, and then all the way back for the dance. He practically pouted the whole way to Betty’s house. _This was insane. _No matter how hard her tried to protest this, he wound up on her porch, ringing the doorbell.____

____He was letting out shaky and annoyed breaths, regretting this decision. That is until she opened the door. _Holy shit _, was all he could think. Betty looked absolutely stunning. Her blonde hair was in beautiful waves and her makeup was just gorgeous. The champagne tinted dress she was wearing was off the shoulder and hugged her waist, showing curves that no one would’ve even known were there.___ _ _ _

______“Hi,” Jughead said, trying not to sound overly impressed, even though he was. He was praying to the heavens above that his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “You look, uh—” He tried to muster up words to describe it, but he got too nervous._ _ _ _ _ _

______Betty smiled. Seeing him try was enough. “So do you,” she said, looking at him up and down. Jughead watched as her eyes trailed up from his fitting dress pants, to his button up shirt, and then to his leather jacket on top. Of course though, her eyes settled on his hair. He knew his hair was nice when it was let loose, he just normally liked to wear his beanie as some sort of security blanket. If she was going to look at him like this though, he may consider never putting that crown-shaped beanie on his head ever again. “Ready to go?” Betty asked, stepping outside._ _ _ _ _ _

______A sudden wave of the common Serpent confidence washed over him. He cleared his throat and stuck his arm out for her to take. “Let’s roll, Betty Cooper,” he winked. Betty chuckled and hooked their arms. Surprisingly, to both himself and her, he opened the truck door for her. After that, they were on their way to Southside High._ _ _ _ _ _

______The ride there wasn’t awkward actually. They had a real conversation about whether or not the dance was going to be fun or stupid. Of course Betty thought optimistically… for god’s sake, she even helped organize the logistics of it with the principals. Jughead, on the other hand, thought it was gonna be a bust, which resulted in Betty rolling her eyes and saying something along the lines of, “Only someone as miserable as you would say that, Juggie.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh, you think I’m miserable now?” Jughead asked as he pulled into a parking spot, raising his eyebrows as high as they went. There was playfulness in his tone. When Betty responded with a simple hum of confirmation, the boy scoffed. “And what would ever make you think that?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Betty scrunched her nose, clearly trying not to laugh. “Don’t you remember? The Jughead Jones that I know is an asshole,” she said, nodding her head and batting her eyes. After those words, she got out of the vehicle, not even looking back at him._ _ _ _ _ _

______Jughead’s mouth opened to respond, but nothing came out. How the hell did she always catch him off guard like that? She was actually quite impressive with her quick, snarky comments. Once his mind was registered in the right place again, Jughead got out of the truck as fast as he could. “We’ll see if you still think that after tonight, princess,” he said smoothly. Betty snorted, but looped her arm in his as they entered the rundown school._ _ _ _ _ _

______When they got inside and saw how nicely everything was set up, they looked at each other proudly. The decorations made the dilapidated gym look pretty great. They were the ones to set it up, so it was certainly worthy of feeling some pride._ _ _ _ _ _

______The two agreed then to go get something to drink before Betty forced him to dance with her. She stood in front of the punch bowl, reaching for a cup, while Jughead absentmindedly put a hand on her lower back as he went to reach around her to get his own. Neither of them thought anything of the contact between them until a certain redhead came over to them with fury in his eyes._ _ _ _ _ _

______Confusing everyone, Archie Andrews came out of nowhere, shoving Jughead. “What the fuck are you touching her for, man?” Archie spat._ _ _ _ _ _

______Thankfully, when his initial shock wasn’t coming from Betty, Jughead could bounce back fast. His natural reaction though was to not say anything and fight back, so he pushed. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” Jughead pushed harder._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Who do you think you are?” Archie retorted._ _ _ _ _ _

______It was pretty stupid to watch, seeing the two boys just shoving each other like that. Betty didn’t know what to do right away though. Like a switch flipped, she jumped in front of Jughead. “Hey! Hey! Archie, stop,” she waved her hands, also holding the raven haired boy back. “He’s my date,” she explained to her friend._ _ _ _ _ _

______Everyone seemed to silence at that. “What?” Archie, Veronica, and Kevin asked simultaneously. The looks on their faces showed pure horror. It was so crazy to hear though that they didn’t even believe it… Kevin did, but the not other two. Betty told them again though, more seriously this time._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You let this _Serpent _take you here? He’s a fucking prick to you, Betty,” Archie scoffed, sizing Jughead up and down. “And again, he’s a fucking Serpent!” The redhead seemed angry, and so did her other two friends, who were agreeing with everything Archie said.___ _ _ _ _ _

________Now Betty was pissed off, and from the ways her eyebrows were furrowed, everyone could tell. “Who cares who he is? He asked me here and I _gladly _said yes,” she said, crossing her arms and making Jughead grin. “Why don’t you all mind your own fucking business for a night? I’m not the little girl next door that you need to look out for anymore, Arch. I can take care of myself,” she said. Clearly this wasn’t the first time her friends stepped in when they didn’t need to.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Betty,” Veronica said her name in a disapproving way._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________This made Betty whip around towards Jughead, grab his hand, and pull him away from the scene. Halfway through the gym, she stopped. “You just wanna get out of here?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You’re cool leaving?” Jughead asked in suspicion. He figured she’d want to stay the whole night, dancing and laughing. This was her type of scene, _wasn’t it? _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Betty looked around, scanning the area and again, making Jughead wonder what was going through that pretty head of hers. “The music here sucks anyway,” she responded, shrugging her shoulders as she walked out. Jughead involuntarily grinned and followed behind._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The two of them had agreed to go to Pop’s unsurprisingly. For one, it was their favorite place for both of them, which was a pleasant surprise. For two, it was right on the edge of the Northside and the Southside, meaning it’d be easier for Jughead to take Betty home after they were finished up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________When they entered the diner, Pop smiled and greeted them each, not even glancing twice to make sure it was actually them together… he was always so sweet like that. On the other hand though, they were greeted with familiar voices. “Jughead?” It was Toni._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Toni, Sweetpea, and Fangs; of course, they had to be here. “What the fuck is this?” Sweetpea asked, making his way over to his leader and the townie he had by his side. He sized Betty up and down, taking in the scowl on her lips with a smirk. “All dressed up. I take it you took little miss All-American Girl Doll to the dance,” he snorted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Yeah, man,” Fangs said. “What is this?” He pointed between the two._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Jughead rolled his eyes at them, but stayed silent. Toni was looking him up and down. “Whatever. Just ditch her and come sit with us,” she said, just wondering what the response would be. Internally, she thought the two of them would be cute together, but she felt obliged to challenge her best friend in this circumstance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Betty had wide eyes, like she was ready to explode. Turning to look at Jughead, she crossed her arms, waiting for his response. He seemed to have nothing to say though, as he was standing there, nervously biting his lip. At this, Betty scoffed and turned to go get a table for just herself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Jughead felt his heart drop. Looking up at his friends, he shook his head, not giving them the satisfaction. He turned around, seeing Betty walking away. “Fuck,” he said, looking up and sucking in a breath. A second later, he was lurching forward to grab her wrist and spin her against the nearest wall so they were face to face. It was his signature move with her, obviously, but this time, he cupped her face and kissed her without any warning for both, himself and her. Betty let out a surprised squeal, but then instantly grabbed onto his leather jacket, deepening the kiss. Sparks were flying everyone for that, it was like two worlds collided. When they separated, Jughead rested their foreheads together. With a smirk, he said, “You have got to stop walking away from me,” he said sternly, his hands giving her waist a little squeeze._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Betty chuckled. “Hm, I like walking away from you. I mean, if this is the result,” she said lowly, connecting their lips again. She bit down on his lower lip before the separate, making him grin. With that then, she took his hand and dragged him to a booth, making sure to wink at the boy’s friends on the way there._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“So, honey,” Jughead started, leaning forward on the table, “you still think I’m an asshole?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Betty smirked. “Nothing I can’t handle,” she teased, taking the cherry off his milkshake to eat and giving him a cheeky smile._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________They were in deep now, but at least they were on the same terms, feeling the same way. It was going to be a rocky road, that’s for sure, but for some reason, despite all the teasing between them, it seemed worth it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Riverdale High and Southside High come together, Jughead targets Betty as his victim, picking on her any chance he would get. This is one of those stories where the boy picks on a girl because he falls in love with her, and Jughead realizes that by accident. How does their relationship get handled as it blooms?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not wanting to deal with people’s reactions, Betty and Jughead keep their relationship quiet for a bit. They get sick of it and start acting coupley in school, not bothering to actually mention their together. How do Betty’s Northside friends respond? And how does she react to them?

What threw Jughead off the most about Betty Cooper was how flirtatious and straightforward she was.

Jughead has a reputation to maintain, and in the middle of class, she loved doing everything that she could to make him weak in the knees. His assigned seat was in the row behind her, one seat to the left. Only creating a show for him, she’s slid the bottom of her skirt up, not all the way, but right on the brink of it becoming very inappropriate. Jughead would tense up everytime shed wiggle back in the seat, arching her back out from him to see better.

Jughead batted his eyes down, _not _wanting to get _a fucking boner in the middle of class, _which was all that was running through his mind. As the teacher went on, Jughead started to think that Betty was evil. It was very unkind doing what she was doing to him right now… his head was literally spinning. Tapping his foot, he looked at his hands the whole time, only glancing up every few seconds to see a smirk on the Betty’s face.____

____Class ended and the teacher bolted out like he always does. Jughead just stayed seated, eyeing Betty as she packed her notebook up into her backpack, noting that she was going slower than needed. Biting down on his lip, he waited until everyone else left before stauntering to her. Unsurprisingly though, she tried to leave class without a word._ _ _ _

____Before Betty left, Jughead pulled her back and shut the door so it was only the two of them. “You are not leaving right now, babe,” he growled, shoving her against the chalkboard. He kissed her fervently, and of course, she responded, slipping his hands under his leather jacket and into the waistline of his jeans; she knew that turned him on. He slid his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her as close as possible while the other rested on her waist._ _ _ _

____Breaking them from their moment, the bell rang. Betty pulled back with a squeal, and unsurprisingly, Jughead tried to follow her lips. She gave him one more quick kiss and then said, “I have english.” She slipped away from him and collected her things._ _ _ _

____“And you say I’m the asshole,” Jughead grumbled at the loss of her mouth on his, making Betty laugh. “Can I walk with you today? Just to this next class?” He asked, watching her lift her heavy backpack with a smirk. It was filled to the rim with books she didn’t even need, which always made him chuckle._ _ _ _

____Betty was about to walk out without him, but she stopped with her fingers curling around the door handle. “You don’t care if people see us?” She asked, her voice softening. They’ve been trying to keep their sneaking around on the low because they didn’t want to have to deal with the backlash of their friends. After Homecoming night, they really kept their social interaction to a minimum, also shutting any questions down on why they went together so that no one would expect anything. In a few days time it was practically forgot about by the other students, and now that it’s been three weeks since, it was like it never happened._ _ _ _

____Jughead walked forward, hands in his pockets. “I don’t give a fuck, to be honest,” he shrugged. Once close enough, he straightened out her skirt, and lowered his mouth do be by her ear. “I don’t want any pervert peeking at you,” he whispered possessively, feeling Betty shutter under his touch. They grinned at each other, Betty giggled a bit._ _ _ _

____Together, the opened the door and walked out into the hallway. Some people noticed the way their bodies were so close together as they walked, others considered it as nothing, but still, eyes were on them. Serpent Prince, Jughead Jones looked like he was actually being kind to none other than the perfect girl next door, Betty Cooper, and boy, it was enough to create a stir. People would whisper until Jughead’s threatening glances would silence them, causing Betty to bite her lip in laughter. Any reaction that he got from her made him smile, so he was biting his back too._ _ _ _

____When they got to her class, which was next to his, she turned to him, saying, “You really don’t care what anyone thinks right now?” Jughead shook his head to that, feeling fed up with it. Betty grinned before rushingly grabbing his jacket and pulling him down for a kiss. Jughead let out a surprised sound but immediately brought his hand to her cheek, like it was a habit (which it was). With a light smile on both of their lips, they separated. “See you later, Juggie,” she said, and with that she was gone._ _ _ _

____Everyone was staring with wide eyes. That was practically seeing two worlds collide, and no one knew how to react. Seeing Jughead’s reaction awed the students out as well, he was just standing there, _starstruck _. He was never prepared for whatever she was about to do, and honestly, he was loving it; she was a thrill that he needed. Collecting himself when the stilled movement of the other students went into motion again, he let out sign, followed by a cheeky grin. “Stop fucking looking at me,” he announced to the nosey teenagers in the hallway, snickering when they obliged.___ _ _ _

______* * *_ _ _ _ _ _

______Lunchtime. Jughead was sitting as his table with two of his friends, Sweetpea and Toni. They heard about the whispers of people saying he was seen kissing Betty Cooper, but every time they’d ask a question, he’d said, “Why do you care?” It shouldn’t matter so much as to who he was with._ _ _ _ _ _

______Everything was going smoothly until Chuck Clayton, Reggie Mantle, and Archie Andrews came stalking over to them in their Riverdale varsity jackets. He let out a frustrated grunt, knowing what was coming. Then he stood up first, meeting them with a heavy gaze._ _ _ _ _ _

______All three townie boys crossed their arms, acting intimidating. “What do you think your doing with Betty Cooper? Trying get in her pants or something?” Chuck spat, sizing Jughead up and down._ _ _ _ _ _

______Jughead snorted, shaking his head and looking down. “Maybe you should mind your own business,” he suggested cheekily, slouching back to show he was not afraid of them._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Do you know who Betty is, Jones? Do you know anything about her? Or are you just trying to take advantage of her? She is naive, but you probably know that,” Archie said, acting he knew everything._ _ _ _ _ _

______Jughead thought about the first time he snuck to her house, climbing up the latter into her room. He thought about their first kiss. He thought about the sounds of her parents fighting from the floor beneath them and how he found about the scars that dig into her palms. She’s not perfect, but he loved her flaws. There was no doubt in his mind that knew Betty Cooper. These guys were just fucking idiots._ _ _ _ _ _

______Pushing down the sentimental thoughts, he brought up the other matter at hand. “Wait, wait,” Jughead snorted. “You think she’s naive?” His eyebrows were raised high. “Clearly, Archibald, you’re the one who knows nothing—” He got cut off but a punch to the jaw. To that, he laughed and spit some blood. Within a second, the two of them were full on brawling. He was aware of Sweetpea shooting up and fending off Chuck for him, while Fangs came into the cafe and jumped in with Reggie._ _ _ _ _ _

______Jughead and Archie were really going at it though. They were strictly making head shots for whatever reason. Jughead was pissed though, he knows his girl and this guy wants to waltz in acting like he knows her better? _No way. _____ _ _ _ _

________By the time Betty was in the cafeteria, blood was dripping down their faces, but they hadn’t stopped. Toni, Kevin, and Veronica were trying to break it up, but nothing worked. She ran to where her friends and Toni were. “What’s going on? What is going on?” She was frantic._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Archie said something to Jughead about you,” Kevin told her. “Nothing’s going on between you two though, correct?” He asked with raised eyebrows. “So it shouldn’t matter?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Toni fumed, letting out a disgruntled yell. “That doesn’t matter right now, Kevin. They won’t stop,” she shouted. “It’s like Jug can’t even hear me.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The blonde stepped forward, inching herself closer to the scene. “Jughead!” Betty squealed. As she had hoped, he came to an abrupt stop, turning his gaze to her and stepping back. Every single person in the cafeteria stood and stared with dropped jaws. Jughead Jones has never responded to someone so easily. Before Archie could swing again, Betty stepped in between them. “Enough,” she said sternly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Jughead pulled Fangs and Sweetpea back. “Quit, guys,” he ordered, and they stopped._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Betty pulled the boy down, inspecting his face. His eye was swelling up and bleeding, as well as his mouth. “You okay?” He nodded, grinning at her. Now with crossed arms, she turned to the boy from her side of town. “What do you think you guys are doing coming after him like that?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Hey,” Jughead said softly, putting a hand on her a shoulder. He didn’t want her to fight with her own friends. From the way she raised her hand to him and the look she was shooting, he was sure that she wouldn’t listen to him, so with a sigh, he stepped back to let her do her thing. He figured whatever she’d say couldn’t be too harmful._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Betty stepped toward Archie, Reggie, and Chuck. “Explain to me what the hell you think you were doing?” Her face was incredulous, showing she wasn’t gonna take what they had to say._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“We’re looking out for you, Betty,” Chuck said, but before she could say something to that, one of the others spoke up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Why’s everyone going around saying you were locking lips with snake boy?” Reggie raised his eyebrow, shooting a disgusted look towards Jughead._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Because I was,” Betty spat. “Just leave it alone. You don’t make my choices for me.” The fire in her voice and her eyes showed how mad she was, and none of the townies knew how to handle it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Archie scoffed. “For you to waste your time on a piece of trash who doesn’t know a single thing about you? You have some _bad boy _fantasy or something that we don’t know about?” He was just as annoyed as she was everyone saw it. “He’s a fucking lowlife.”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Fuck you, asshole,” Betty snapped back. She could be feisty went in an argument, but she never responded to someone like that. Archie tried to open his mouth again, but she repeated her words more sternly. _“Fuck you, Archie.” _She snarled at him, not even able to cackle at his appalled expression.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________This was the first time that Betty’s surprising words gave Jughead a sense of pride. As she turned towards him, his amused and heartfelt smirk never faltered. She grabbed his hand and started pulling him away with her, but he quickly brought her back in, enrapturing her in a long, passionate kiss. Both of their hands were cupping each other’s faces, feeling the heat of their cheeks. His lips tasted like sweat, blood, and cigarettes, but from the way she melted into it, it was clear she didn’t mind. “I might just be in love with you,” Jughead mumbled as they split, still breathing into each other._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Now it was Betty’s turn to be caught off guard. A smile graced her lips. “I think I love you too,” she whispered, realizing that she meant it. “Now let me clean your face up. You’re bloody,” she scrunched her nose and pulled him away._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________They didn’t bother turning around to look at the shocked faces of Betty or Jughead’s friends, or even the other students. None of it was worth it, they didn’t matter right now._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________* * *_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It was ten o’clock. Jughead was laying in the storage room atop of his big comforter and underneath a quilt he stole from a teacher’s room. There was a cigarette between his lips as he thought about the events of the day. That didn’t last very long though because all of a sudden, the door swung open. “God, what the fuck?” He breathed out, feeling his heart race. It was Betty, which again, should not surprise him… she always came out of nowhere. “How’d you know I was here?” He asked, scooting over so she could lay down with him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Saw your bike still parked outside,” Betty responded, snuggling up to him, kissing his jaw as she did so._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“You came all the way from the other side of town, what are you doing here?” Jughead asked curiously, wrapping an arm around her waist as he tilted his head up to exhale some smoke. Directly after that he put the cigarette out so he could face her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Betty paused before responding. “I missed you and I wanted to check on your face,” she said, thinking about her response before saying it. Right away, Jughead pulled back, knowing she was holding something in. He didn’t have to say anything before she explained. “Archie was knocking on my door, my mom was yelling, V and Kev wouldn’t stop calling… so I left to come find you.” Her voice was a bit bashful._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Jughead sighed and kissed her forehead. In reality, he understood why her friends were so skeptical, but he wished they weren’t acting this way towards her. It truly made him want to punch someone again, but he knew that wouldn’t be wise. “You okay?” He stroked her hair. In that moment, he wondered when he got so soft… and how he didn’t mind it. But, like most, it all started with Elizabeth Cooper._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Yeah, like I said, I missed you,” she whispered, and Jughead returned the words as she moved her lips to from his jaw to his neck. “Mind if I just stay here with you tonight?” Betty asked between kisses, interlacing their legs together._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Pulling her directly on top of him, Jughead smirked. “I don’t mind at all, princess,” she brought his lips to hers, sliding his hands under her t-shirt to rest on her lower back. Betty grinned into his mouth._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Throughout the night, they each came to the conclusion that they made each other happier than anyone ever has. The snarky comments, the surprises, the teasing… they wanted all of it and more. Eventually their friends would accept the relationship and people would adjust; they were going to face whatever was thrown at them with the strength that only they could give to each other._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________Like Romeo and Juliet, but maybe with a happy ending. ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
